I can believe that Valve would be interested in something like that (and is maybe even doing some research work in that direction), but I am almost 100% certain that it will either not be released or not be successful.

Pietras

25-04-12, 21:20

but I am almost 100% certain that it will [..] not be successful.Why? If they pack a PC into a shiny box you can easily plug into your fat ass TV screen in living room and easily install/run games (system doing all the usual PC work for you), then I can't see it NOT succeeding. It would be a machine that would have years/decades big PC game library available from day 1 and it would also have support secured since almost everyone's doing PC versions anyway.

Sir Croft

25-04-12, 21:24

Why? If they pack a PC into a shiny box you can easily plug into your fat ass TV screen in living room and easily install/run games (system doing all the usual PC work for you), then I can't see it NOT succeeding. It would be a machine that would have years/decades big PC game library available from day 1 and it would also have support secured since almost everyone's doing PC versions anyway.
It would also encourage the development of more PC games. Which is, by default, awesome.
I support the idea. A lot, actually. If PC gaming were in any peril (it isn't), this would be the way to save it. Not that crap Razer made.

Pietras

25-04-12, 21:42

It would also encourage the development of more PC games. Which is, by default, awesome.Exactly what I was thinking too. They could expand PC market tremendously.

I support the idea. A lot, actually. If PC gaming were in any peril (it isn't), this would be the way to save it. Not that crap Razer made.Agree. With Digital Downloads (Steam, Origin, GOG), PC gaming is on the rise again and such "PC for less techy people to put next to TV" would accelerate it even further. Consoles would lost it's prime advantage over PC - accessibility and easy usage.

Weemanply109

25-04-12, 23:32

I just read this (Well only the title) does this provide anything useful?

Steam and Source Engine being ported to Linux (http://www.shacknews.com/article/73510/steam-and-source-engine-being-ported-to-linux)

Cochrane

25-04-12, 23:41

Why? If they pack a PC into a shiny box you can easily plug into your fat ass TV screen in living room and easily install/run games (system doing all the usual PC work for you), then I can't see it NOT succeeding. It would be a machine that would have years/decades big PC game library available from day 1 and it would also have support secured since almost everyone's doing PC versions anyway.

It sounds good in theory, that is true. But that is only a part of the whole picture.

First of all, Valve has no experience with building hardware. They have no relationships with companies like Foxconn and Asustek who actually build electronics. They also have no experience with getting hardware into stores, shipping it, promoting it and so on.

The second part is the operating system. They can probably license Windows for all the basic stuff, but the interesting part is the user interface. Can Valve really make the PC game install and update process painless? They've been working at this for ages now, and I have to say that for their games and many others on Steam, it works well enough. But there are plenty of exceptions, such as everything that requires Games for Windows live, any game that assumes that you have a mouse somewhere (in particular those with startup screens) and so on.

Valve would also have to ensure that any game on the platform works with whatever controller they give it, which isn't that difficult nowadays (since almost all games support the standard Xbox controller, and Valve could just use something very similar that looks the same from a software point of view), but it still requires work and possibly patches in other people's code. In short: Valve cannot actually rely on a big gaming library being available. They have to work with everyone selling their games on Steam to make sure they support the new box.

Away from games, Valve is also adding another box to the living room. It is anybody's question how long this will continue to be a good idea. Almost all competitors, for example, support Netflix and other audio and video sources for home entertainment. Valve has no experience whatsoever in that area.

And finally, don't forget: In stores, the steam box has to compete with PlayStations, Xboxes and the Wii, all produced by companies that have a significantly larger advertisement budgets than Valve ever will.

All those are problems that can be overcome with enough time and money. But realistically speaking, Valve will most likely produce that will cost at least about the same as a PS3 and have a size similar to the original Xbox, and the project would require a very large portion of Valve's cash reserves. The history of gaming is littered with companies that tried similar things and failed horribly.

Edit to add:

I just read this (Well only the title) does this provide anything useful?

Steam and Source Engine being ported to Linux (http://www.shacknews.com/article/73510/steam-and-source-engine-being-ported-to-linux)
No, that does not help at all (at least for this).

In theory, Valve could use this to make their console run on Linux internally, without ever showing it to users. Many embedded devices work like that. The advantage is that they don't have to pay any license fees to Microsoft.

The disadvantage is that any games that don't have a Linux version won't work on the box, unless developers specifically port them over. Good luck with that one.

Hairhelmet12

25-04-12, 23:45

Guess it's safe to say Xbox won't be getting that DLC they announced for L4D2 oh 2 years ago. :rolleyes:

Too vague to say anything. My skepticism from eight months ago (boy, this is an old thread) still stands. Valve seems to be better at solving the UI issue, with "Big Picture", but the remaining issues are still important, especially since they seem to be aiming at Linux as the underlying system.

In all fairness: Valve is probably the company most likely to pull this off; they already have the relationships with third-party developers, and while they don't release any financial data, it does seem as if they have enough cash to burn on this one.

But still: This is a very high-risk move.

klona

11-12-12, 17:22

I think console devs should just make a Console with a fully changeable hardware.
Like some case you pull out and put in the higher graphics version or something, it's game have "version number" required to launch it.

Sgt BOMBULOUS

11-12-12, 22:41

I think console devs should just make a Console with a fully changeable hardware.
Like some case you pull out and put in the higher graphics version or something, it's game have "version number" required to launch it.

I love that they have codenamed this 'Piston'. It's just so simple yet clever. I'm really interested in this, actually. The only thing I'm not keen on is the Radeon video card. I would have prefered an NVidea one but that' just life. I wonder how much this little marvel will cost.

Given its something seeminly new, but high end I'm guessing it's gonna be quite expensive. But then releasing round the same time as the next gen of consoles may bring it down somewhat.

Immortalis08

08-01-13, 21:41

With all the steam sales that happen regularly and their expansive catalog of software definitely has me interested in this. So essentially this is pc gaming you can hook up to your HDTV?

jajay119

08-01-13, 21:44

Exactly, and as someone increasingly bored or being ripped off my physical gaming and the 'big 3' but who is also too poorly informed to jump to a gaming PC I'm the perfect target audience.

Chug a Bug

09-01-13, 10:35

So essentially this is pc gaming you can hook up to your HDTV?

You can do that with a PC already, most graphics cards have HDMI outputs these days.

Its interesting to see where they go with this, considering Valve's opinions about Windows 8 (they don't like it, and I can understand why). Just so long as their content is still available on a regular PC too, even if it is on Linux.